genuineness of this Epistle has been practically demonstrated, some writers have suggested that these words do not refer to special ecclesiastical offices![1] [Sidenote: To whom written.] Philippi was named after Philip, King of Macedon, in the 4th century B.C. It was in Eastern Macedonia, on a steep hill at the edge of a plain; its seaport, Neapolis, was about eight miles distant. It was on the Egnatian road, the great high-road which connected the Aegean and the Adriatic seas, and therefore connected Asia with Europe. It was made into a Roman colony, with the title _Colonia Augusta Julia Philippensium_, after the victory of Antony and Octavian over Brutus and Cassius. Its new name was, therefore, a memorial of the murdered but avenged Julius Caesar. St. Paul brought Christianity to Philippi early in A.D. 50, during his second missionary journey. St. Paul's first visit here is described in Acts xvi. 12-40, and it has a special interest as the story of the apostle's first preaching in a European town. The Jews had no synagogue, only a spot by the river-side in the suburbs, where a few met together on the sabbath. His first convert was Lydia of Thyatira, who was a seller of purple-dyed {190} goods; her house became the centre of the Philippian Church. The imprisonment of St. Paul and St. Silas in consequence of St. Paul's exorcising a heathen slave-girl who professed to be inspired, is one of the most dramatic incidents in Acts. When St. Paul was released he left the town, but returned there, in all probability, in A.D. 55, on his third journey while travelling to Corinth. In A.D. 56 he was there once more, and the last Easter before his imprisonment was spent with these beloved converts (Acts xx. 6). The Christians of Philippi were pre-eminent in the affections of St. Paul. He calls them, like the Thessalonians, his "joy and crown" (iv. 1), and they alone of his children had the privilege of ministering to his personal necessities. [Sidenote: Where and when written.] It may be regarded as almost certain that St. Paul wrote this Epistle in Rome. He was a prisoner, as we see in Phil. i. 7, 13, 14, 17. He sends greeting from those of Caesar's household (iv. 22). The first and last chapters imply that he is in the midst of an active Church, and that he is the centre to which messengers come and from which they go. This accords with the apostle's treatment at Rome. One phrase, however, has been thought to suggest Caesarea rather than Rome. It is "the whole praetorium" (i. 13). This might mean the praetorium or palace of Herod Agrippa II. at Caesarea, but it is possible that it has quite a different meaning. It may either be the imperial guard or the supreme imperial court before which St. Paul had to be judged. The latter interpretation is that suggested by the great historian Mommsen, and seems to be the most satisfactory explanation.